How does the evaporust compare to using vinegar? I have had good luck with vinegar removing rust, however if left too long the acid in it will eat metal as well. I stripped the chrome off something with it.

Evaporust won't eat metal, although it will eave an etch line if anything sticks up above it.

Are 'etch' and 'eaten' really two different things?....molecularly thinking here...

No acid in Evaporust, from their website:


BIODEGRADABLE
Evapo-Rust® rust remover is safe on skin and all materials except rust! It's also biodegradable and earth-friendly. Water soluble and pH-neutral, Evapo-Rust® is non-toxic, non-corrosive, non-flammable, and contains no acids, bases, or solvents. Evapo-Rust® is simply the safest rust remover.

I tried evaporated, it works great but it’s expensive. I then used the vinegar salt recipe a member came up with on here. It works great also but yes it will eat a part of left too long. I had to clean and dry really well after or it would flash rust instantly. I used to keep it in a black plastic tote out in the sun and it seemed to work year round, but definitely better when hotter. When I finally dumped it out there was about 6” of rust sitting on the bottom of the tote. There was a guy on one of the forum that put his connecting rods in evaporust overnight. When he went to assemble his engine the pins slipped right through, no more press fit.

Keep in mind that rust is the corrosion of metal, if the rust is removed, the rusty part will then become smaller.

Smaller on the OD and larger on the ID.

I've had some small parts in it soaking for quite some time, (months).
After reading this, I want to rinse 'em off and see how they look.
What do you folks recommend to rinse?

Yeah I get that. He claimed they weren’t rusty and there was no rust in the pin bores. I don’t know I didn’t witness it, he seemed like a reputable guy. I’m just putting it out there, i wouldn’t uae it on something with precision machine surface.

I love evaporust. Just don't let it evaporate with a part in the solution. Creates a real mess.

I have been very impressed with Evaporust’s mild affect on everything but the rust.
It is pH neutral, neither acid like vinegar, or basic like lye.

Moparts has a long thread on this:

https://board.moparts.org/ubbthreads/ubbt...tml#Post2260350

I usually have to lightly stainless steel brush the surfaces every 12 hours.

I still suspect old Evaporust could be recycled by adding either strong acid (or strong base) to get the “chelated iron” to release into liquid and drop to the bottom of a container, then neutralize back to a pH of 7. Strong magnets might help do this quicker.

I have not tried Evaporust in a small ultrasonic bath yet, but intend to.
I also have a
Tide/ Black&Decker “Buzz” brand ultrasonic probe
I intend to use in combination with Evaporust in a larger tank.

https://www.ebay.com/i/123165492683?chn=...195a6a0fff9bad1

I bought a one gallon jug of 4:1 concentrate Safest Rust Remover but have not used it yet.
I intend to pump it as a spray against the underside of a pickup and catch the drippings in a kiddie swimming pool for recycle to the pump.

I bought some “Washing Soda” and intend to try Electrolosis rust removal in a plastic container using a 12 volt 1.6/2/10/50 amp battery charger.

I recently cleaned up some original A-body rear drums with Evaporust, first pic is one before and one after. That is original red paint on both. Overnight soak and a rinse in lacquer thinner followed by some light scrubbing with a 0000 steel wool pad to remove the black residue and these are the results.

My hardware came out great.
I just cleaned 'em of with a rag and sprayed with silicone based lubricant.